IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


/y 


^ 


// 


.A* 


A 


i/.x 


fA 


1.0 


I.I 


If:  *-  III  2.2 

t   l&    11 2.0 


1:25  mil  1.4 


1.6 


y] 


*^;^/ 


^7- 


^ 

c^^ 


cM 


// 


&.. 


O 


/ 


A 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


fV 


\ 


\ 


^<b 


\\^ 


CIKM/ICMH 
Microfiche 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  canadien  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filnr.ing.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


D 


□ 
0 


□ 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagee 


□    Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaur^e  et/ou  pellicul^e 


I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  gdographiques  en  couleur 


□    Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

□    Coloured  plates  and/or  iliustrations/ 
Plane 


□ 


iches  et/ou  iilustrctions  en  couleur 


Bound  with  otder  material/ 
Relie  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serree  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intdrieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
11  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajoutdes 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaisser^t  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  film^es. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppli^mentaires; 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  una 
modification  dans  la  m^thode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquds  ci-dessous. 

□    Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  rouleur 

□    Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag^es 

I      I    Pages  restored  and^or  laminated/ 


D 


Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pelliculees 

Pages  discoloured,  r,tained  or  foxei 
Pages  d6color6es,  tachetdes  ou  piqu^es 

Pages  detached/ 
Pagas  d^tachees 

Showthroughy 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Quality  in^gale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materic 
Comprend  du  matdrie!  supplementaire 

idition  available/ 
Edition  disponible 


I      I  Pages  discoloured,  r,tained  or  foxed/ 

I      I  Pages  detached/ 

I      I  Showthrough/ 

I      I  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I      I  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

□  Only  edition  available/ 
Seule 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6x6  film^es  A  nouveau  de  facon  i 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmd  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqud  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


y 


12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

IMiiis  IMemorial  Library 
IVIclMaster  University 


L'exemplaire  filmd  fut  reproduit  grflce  d  la 
g6n6ro8it6  de: 

■Mills  Memorial  Library 
McMaster  University 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  begin  ling  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  •-»-  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diugrams  illustrate  the 
method; 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  6td  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  netteti  de  l'exemplaire  film6,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
Jilmage. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprim6e  sont  filmds  en  commen9ant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  ie  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemptaires 
originaux  sont  filmds  en  commenpant  par  la 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinib. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
film^s  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffdients. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  il  est  filmd  d  partir 
de  Tangle  sup^rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n^cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

■■" '  '^^       '"^■^"mi 


ASBBE 


ww.v  —1 1)  ■mwapB! 


ll 


PEOPLES    UNIVERSITY 


AN  ADDRESS  DEIJVKRED  BEFORE  THE  CORNELL  rXIVlvRSITY 
ON  FOUNDER'S  DAY,  JANUARY  .n„,   :SKS 


nv 


J.  G.  SCHURMAN 

PROFESSOR  OF  ruiLosoi'Frv 


••  /  7vould  found  a»  i„sUtulwn  where  any  person  can  find  uisln 


liction  in  any  study. 
—Ezra  Cornkll. 


ITHACA,  N.  Y. 
PUBUSHED  BY  THE  UmvERSITY 

i88« 


A    People's  University. 


Mr.  Prrsidnif,  Ladies  ami  Gcvticmni  : 

At  the  last  commemoration  of  this  honored  day 
It   was   onr  privilege   to  hear  from  one   who  had 
shared  his  friendship  and  his  cares,  an  accouni  of 
the  later  life  and  strnggles  of  the  fonnder  of  onr 
University.     The  theme  was  ^,eA  adapted  to  ora- 
tory, and  Judge  Fineh's  address  was  worthy  of  the 
oecasion.     His  simple  straightforwardness  of  man- 
ner, his  skill  in  the  grouping  of  faets,  the  insight 
and  the  sympathy  with   which  he   delineated  his 
snbject,    and    the    literary    finish    v.ath    which    he 
adorned  it,  all  contributed  to  make  his  biographical 
sketch  a  model  of  natural  and  mo^-ing  eloquence. 
In  the  course  of  the  year  that  has  since  elapsed 
much  has  been  effaced  from  our  memories,  but  I 
dare  to  assert  they  still  retain,  in  undimmed  clear- 
ness,   that    luminous    and    impressive   portrait   of 
Ezra  Cornell.     Who  can  ever  forget  that  picture 
of  our  founder's  life  of  sacred  devotion  to  mankind, 
the  self-regardless  ministration  and  hazardous  be- 


l^J 


Miii 


Memon'al  Address. 


nevolence  he  carried  to  the  verge  of  desperate  for- 
tune ?  Who  can  ever  forget  the  dauntless  courage 
and  the  unquenchable  hope  with  which  he  con- 
fronted the  dire  powers  his  own  generosity  had 
evoked  ?  If  we  were  not  wont  to  put  the  age  of 
gods  and  miracles  behind  us,  forgetting  that  every 
human  soul  is  divine,  and  every  moment  of  time 
teems  with  marvels,  we  should  see  in  that  heroic 
spirit,  in  whose  name  we  meet  again  to-daj-,  a  ver- 
itable wonder-working  Prometheus.  For  this  man, 
too,  strongly  dared  and  suffered,  like  one  of  more 
than  mortal  mould,  in  order  that  he  might  wrest 
from  grudging  destiny  the  arts,  the  sciences,  and 
the  culture  which  earlier  generations  deemed  the 
gift  of  godlike  benefactors,  whom  they  worshipped 
as  saviors  of  humanity. 

It  were  sad,  indeed,  if  the  virtues  and  the  heroic 
deeds  of  our  illustrious  dead  were  not  worthily  cel- 
ebrated by  th*  living.  They  are  the  altar-fires  in 
the  temple  of  humanity  at  which  we  warm  our 
colder  hearts  and  quicken  the  motion  of  our  more 
sluggish  spirits.  Like  the  fires  sacred  to  Vesta, 
they  must  be  kept  ever  burning ;  for  the  moment 
of  their  extinction  were  the  herald  of  our  doom. 
In  a  world  whose  final  end  is  good,  no  people  can 
survive,  no  people  deserves  to  survive,  that  does 


A  People's    Univrrsily.  e 

not  reverence  the  memory  of  its  noblest  sons,  and 
clierish  and  emnlate  the  sympathies  and  impulses 
by  which  their  lives  were  inspired. 

Yet  I  shall  not,  to-day,  seek  to  stimulate  myself 
or  you  to  higher  endeavor  by  holding  up  the  mir- 
ror to  our  Promethean  founder.     Other  hands  have 
wreathed  a  garland  for  him,  and  we  come  too  late 
to  twine  a  single  leaflet.     Nor  could  words  of  ours 
add  to  the  fragrance  with   which  his   memory  is 
enshrined  in  the  holiest  of  all  temples— the  hearts 
of  grateful  beneficiaries.     I  have  thought,  however, 
it  might  be  a  service  not  unacceptable  to  him,  and 
not  inappropriate  to  this  occasion,  if,  turning  with 
reverential  silence  from  the  shrine  of  the  founder, 
we  surveyed  afresh  the  foundations  on  which   he 
built   this   institution.      At  any   rate,   after  much 
perplexity  in  the  choice  of  a  topic,  it  is  on  this  I 
have  decided  to  address  you.     Such  abstract  sub- 
jects are,  I  am  well  aware,  not  generally  popular, 
even  when  they  are  not,  as  they  too  often  are,  pos- 
itively  unwelcome.      And   the   reason    is    evident. 
Lying  in   the   dry   light  of  intellect,   they   never 
thrill  the  feelings,  or  fire  the  imagination,  or  charge 
the  will  with  impetuous  and  consuming  purpose. 
Nevertheless,  the  understanding  has  its  own  rights 
and  claims.     And  it  seems  to  me  not  unfitting  that, 


Mcviorial  Address. 


as  we  last  year  gave  ourselves  up  to  the  pathos  of 
our  founder's  struggles,  we  should  on  this  anni- 
versary calmly  consider  the  ends  for  which  he 
struggled,  or  the  ideas  which  he  strove  to  realize 
by  means  of  this  Universit}', 

It  was  a  noble  thought  of  Plato's  that  behind 
every  common  object  of  space  and  time  lay  an  idea 
constitutive  of  its  essence  and  significance.  We 
are  so  busy  with  getting  and  spending  that  we  can 
scarcely  imagine  the  perfection  of  life  to  consist 
in  communion  with  these  everlasting  grounds  of 
things.  Yet  a  greater  than  Plato  has  said,  IMan 
shall  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word 
that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God.  Our 
true  vocation,  therefore,  is,  not  to  nourish  a  blind, 
instinctive  life  like  the  animals,  but  to  look  before 
and  after  and  to  comprehend  the  grounds  and 
principles  of  things.  But  it  is  a  general  infirmity 
of  human  nature  to  fall  far  short  of  this  high  call- 
ing. Creatures  of  habit,  we  take  what  comes  to 
us  without  troubling  ourselves  to  think  mucli 
about  it.  We  seem  to  assume  the  universe  is 
there  to  be  enjoyed,  not  to  be  understood.  And 
v/hile  I  would  not  exaggerate  the  particular  dis- 
temperature  of  our  own  air  and  season,  I  think  we 
must  nevertheless  admit  that  the  neglect  of  ideas 


A  People's  University.  j 

and  principles  is  the  special  fault,  I  had  almost 
said  the  inevitable  calamity,  of  an  energetic,  active, 
and  successful  people  engrossed  with  the  practical 
problems  of  a  vast  material  civilization. 

When    we    speak    of   Cornell    University,   how 
often  does  the  name  suggest  to   us  more  than  its 
members,  or  its    external   features   or  accompani- 
ments ?     We  think,  perliaps,  of  the  students  now 
grown  to  a  body  a  thousand  strong,  and  destined, 
at    the    present    rate   of    increase,  to    become  two 
thousaud   in   the   next   half-dozen   years.      Or  we 
think  of  the  teaching  staff,  enlarging  auu  chang- 
ing  so  rapidly  that  no  one  knows  his  colleagues  at 
the  beginning  of  an  academic  session.     To  other 
minds  Cornell  University  is  the  symbol  of  untold 
wealth,  the  object  of  endowments  larger  than  those 
of  any  other  university  in  the  country,  with  the 
possible   exception   of   Harvard.     I   need  scarcely 
say,  this  is  not  a  professorial  picture.     By  sad  and 
repeated  experience,  even  the  unpractical  professor    : 
has  discovered  that  poverty  is  a  relative  conception, 
being  strictly   the  pressure  of  expenditure   upon 
income,  and  that,  therefore,  it  is  as  easy  to  have 
one's  department  in  want,  and  to  see  one's  darling 
schemes  of  instruction  and  research  frustrated  in  a 
millionaire   university  as  in  a  petty  college  sup- 


8 


Memorial  Address. 


ported  by  the  weekly  offerings  of  an  impecunious 
constituency.     At  Cornell,  as  in  man}'  a  smaller 
institution,  there  is  abundant  scope  for  the  moral 
discipline  that  comes  of  reaching  happiness  rather 
through  the  suppression  of  wants  than  by  the  sat- 
isfaction of  them.     Yet,  on  the  whole,  I  believe  the 
professor  has  less  ground  for  complaint  here  than 
in  almost  any  other  American   university.     And 
those  for  whom  Cornell   is  syiionymous   with   its 
material  organization  may  point  with  much  com- 
placency to  the   numerous  and  commodious  edi- 
fices ;  the  well   equipped   laboratories,   work-shops 
and  barns;  the  large  libraries;  the  appointments 
for  instruction,  recreation  and  devotion  ;  the  private 
residences  and  the  public  monuments  with  which 
our  grounds  are  covered,  and,  in  many  cases,  orna- 
mented and  embellished.     Nor  must  I  pass  over 
another  image  which  the  name  of  Cornell  Univer- 
sity will  always  call  up  in  souls  that  have  once  felt 
the  beauty  of  its  natural  surroundings.     As  often 
as  the  name  is  uttered  there  will  rise  before  them 
a  picture  of  these  romantic  grounds,  lying  ;  s  a  rich 
border  on  the  brow  of  this  undulating  table-land, 
shut  in  like  another  paradise  on  the  north  and  on 
the  south  by  deep   and  precipitous   ravines,   that 
echo  eternally  with  the  multitudinous  roar  of  their 


A  People's  University..  ^ 

water-falls,  and  faced  towards  the  west  by  a  noble 
and  historic  lake  that  stretches  far  as  the  eye  can 
reach  between  high  and  siiuions  banks,  which 
vvhetlier  clad  in  the  splendor  of  their  uneqnalled 
flora,  or  delicately  veiled,  as  now,  in  the  virginal 
robes  of  winter,  present  snch  a  scene  of  unwither- 
iiig  beanty  as  fascinates  the  insatiate  eye,  and 

"to  the  heart  inspires 
Venial  dellKhl  and  joy,  ahle  to  drive 
All  sadness  but  despair." 

These    are    all    aspects    of   Cornell    UnivcTsity. 
And  we  do  well  to  rejoice  in  the  nnniatched  loveli- 
ness of  onr  sitnation,  the  magnitnde  and  variety 
of  onr  material  organization,  and  the  rapidly  in- 
creasing nnnibers  of  onr  stndeiits  and  professors. 
Yet  these  are  not  what  I  wonld  call  the  idea  of  the 
university.     And  yon  must  remember  that  Cornell 
is  the  exposition  and  embodiment  of  a  conception 
never  before  realized  in  education.     It  is  not  a  me- 
chanical  copy   of  any  existing  model.     It   is   an 
individual  organism,  with  a  soul  of  its  own.     And 
this  soul,  this  constitutive  idea  of  the  strncture,  we 
mnst  now  attempt  to  determine. 

In  order  to  bring  the  matter  more  clearly  before 
you,  I  will  ask  you  to  glance  hnrriedly  at  the  the- 
ories of  education  and  the  means  of  instruction  that 


ram 


lO 


Alemorial  Address. 


have  obtained  in  other  ages  and  countries.     Man 
must  livc^  Aristotle  has  truly  obsen^ed,  beiore  he 
can   live    luell.     Accordingly,   the   most   primitive 
kind  of  education  is  that  which  is  confined  to  train- 
ing men   to  defend    themselves   and   procure   the 
natural   means  of  subsistence.     And  the  highest 
type  of  culture   known   to   large   portions  of  the 
human  family  is  the  combined  perfection  of  the 
warrio:    and  the  hunter.     These  savage  soc^'eties 
are,  like  everything  else,  subject  to  change;  and 
in  the  struggle  for  existence  there  is  a  continuous 
promotion  of  the  higher  forms.     And  as  primitive 
man  worships  the  stone  that  has  brought  him  luck, 
so  he  deifies  the  institutions  that  have  insured  his 
social  existence.     The  cake  of  custom,  as  Bagehot 
calls  it,  once  formed,  cannot  be  broken.     Thus  we 
reach  the  changeless  civilization  of  those  Oriental 
cour tries    where   tlie    ideal    of   educat-on    was    to 
mould  men  to  their  foreordained  place  in  the  estab- 
lished order  of  things.     They  had  not  the  faintest 
conception  of  the  infinite  worth  of  personality,  as 
\l  has  been  stamped  by  Christianity  upon  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  modern  world.     The  individual 
was  subordinated  to  an  external  authority,  which 
shaped  him  like  a  potter's  wheel. 


A  Pcopli'^s   University,  ^ 

In  such  a  civilization  education  could  not  possi- 
bly consist  in  the  harmonious  development  of  all 
the  natural  powers  of  body  and  mind.     Its  aim  in 
Chnia  was,   by  means  of  a  severe  and  incredibly 
prolonged  study  of  the  national  classics,  merelv  to 
nnpress  upon  the  students  those  traditional  ideas 
customs,  and  institutions  in  which  the  life  of  the' 
people  had  become  petrified,  and  which  have  been 
transmitted  intact  through  at  least  sixty  genera- 
tions.    Under  a  course  of  training  that  exchided 
science   and   mathematics,  language,  history,  and 
geography,  the  Dowers  of  observation,  imagination 
and  reasoning  could  scarcely  escape  atrophy.     For 
this   inharmonious  development  and  the  astound- 
ing Ignorance  that  accompanied  it,  even  in  a  ma- 
ture graduate  of  four-score  winters,  there  was  noth-  ' 
iiig  to  atone    but  a   prodigious    memory    and    an 
ineradicable  conservatism. 

What  national  customs  were  to  the  Chinese,  the 
usages  of  his  caste  were  to  the  Hindoo.  But  Hin- 
doo education  comprised,  in  addition  to  instruction 
in  ceremonial  usages  and  morality,  such  element- 
ary discipline  as  our  children  receive  to-day,  and 
an  advanced  curriculum  exteiK^ing  over  twelve 
years,  intended  primarily  for  the  Brahmins.  This 
extensive  course  included  grammar  and  history,  ^ 


12 


Memorial  Address. 


|i 


poetr}'  and  philosophy,  medicine  and  law,  astrono- 
my and  mathematics, — to  the  last  of  which  the 
Hindoos  have  made  notable  contribntions. 

In  India  only  the  lower  caste  was  debarred  alto- 
gether from  mental  training.  In  Persia  none  bnt 
the  Magi^  who  were  as  learned  as  the  Hindoo  Brah- 
mins, seem  to  have  enjoyed  it.  Herodotns  tells 
us  that  to  speak  the  truth  and  to  ride  on  horseback 
were  the  fundamental  requirements  of  Persian  edu- 
cation. And  all  that  we  knjw  of  it  shows  that,  as 
in  Sparta,  only  those  moral  and  physical  qualities 
were  cultivated  which  the  despotic  ruler  found  use- 
ful for  the  conduct  of  war  and  the  administration 
of  government. 

Passing  from  the  Aryan  to  the  Semitic  race,  we 
meet  the  Phoenicians,  who  invented  our  alphabet, 
and  the  jews,  who  gave  us  our  religion.  I  need 
not  say  that,  without  great  progress  in  intellectual 
culture,  the  Jews  could  not- have  left  us  the  price- 
less heritage  of  their  literature.  But  in  the  present 
connection  it  is  more  important  to  observe  that 
with  them  originated  a  new  ideal  of  education, 
whose  vital  significance  the  lapse  of  time  can  never 
exhaust.  While  othei  systems  aimed  at  forming 
( iTective  citizens  or  members  of  a  class,  the  Jewish 
teacher — and  every  father  was  a  teacher — strove  to 


A  People's   Universny.  j^ 

make  his  pupils  faitliful  and  obedient  servants  of 
the  God  of  righteousness. 

Moses,  we  are  told,   "was  learned  in  all  the  wis 
dom  of  the  Egyptians."     And  Egyptian  civilization 
IS,   doubtless,   the  oldest  in  the  world.     It  was  a 
source  of  inspiration,  both  to  Greeks  and  to  Jews. 
The  system  of  education  concentrated  all  higher 
knowledge  in  the  priestly  class,  as  in  India,  though 
the  other  classes  were  not,   as   in   Persia,   left    in 
entire    ignorance.     In    science    and    culture    the 
Egyptians    were    not    surpassed   by    any    oriental 
nations ;  in  the  mechanic  arts  they  were  far  in  ad- 
vance of  them,  and  their  mechanical  achievements 
were  unique  in  antiquity. 

It  is  still  a  debated  point  how  far  Greek  civiliza- 
tion  was   modified   by   the    Egyptian.      That  the 
hoary  culture  of  Thebes,  Memphis,  and  Heliopolis 
had  an  irresistible  fascination  for  the  inquisitive 
and  susceptible  Ionian,  we  may  still  see  from  the  de- 
lightful narrative  of  Herodotus ;  and  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  greatest  lawgivers,  and  SDuie  of 
the   greatest   philosophers   of    Greece,    Plato  and 
Pythagoras,  as  well  as  Solon  and  Eycurgus,  repaired 
for  wisdom  to  the  garnered  stores  of  Egypt.     But 
it  is  also  certani  that  the  Greek  types  of  education 
were  not  exotics,  but  native  growths  rooted  deeply 


H 


Mnnon'a/  Addrrss. 


in  the  character  and  circuiiistances  of  the  people. 
Sparta  is  inconceivable  without  its  system  of  mar 
tial  education.     And  Athens 


"Athens,  the  eye  of  Greece,  mother  of  arts 
And  eU^juence.  native  to  famous  wits 
Or  liospital)]e," 

—what  spirit  but  hers  could  ever  have  brought  to  the 
birth  that  ideal  of  esthetic  education,  named  from 
the  noblest  words  in  the  language,    naAonaynmn, 
and  expressing  the  harmonious  beauty  of  .soul  and 
body  for  which  the  national   life  was  one  continu- 
ous, intense,  and  gloriously  triumphant  aspiration. 
Beauty    of   body    was    cultivated    by    gymnastics, 
beauty  of  soul  by  music.     Music  and  gymnastics 
were,  therefore,  principal  factors  in  Athenian  edu- 
cation.    But  mental  culture  also  included  the  study 
of  grammar,   poetry,    rhetoric,    mathematics,    and 
philosophy.     Ill  comparison  with  the  beautiful,  the 
useful  was  contemned,  and  even  the  moral  was'  but 
inadequately  recognized.     Within   its  own  limits, 
however,  Greek  training  produced  a  manhood  that 
has  challenged  the  admiration  of  the  world ;  and 
in  the  calm  marble  figures  their  inimitable  art  has 
left  us,  each  generation  still  finds  with  ecstasy  the 
realization  of  its  highest  type  of  beauty. 


A  Peop/f'^s   University 


T.S 


The  Roman  was  hard,  practical,  utilitarian.  His 
mission  in  the  world  was  to  conquer,  to  enact  jus- 
tice, and  to  administer  laws.  He  had  little  time  to 
spend  on  a  liberal  education,  and" of  the  humanities, 
history  was  to  him  the  most  important.  At  fifteen 
he  donned  the  toga  virilis  and  made  choice  of  his 
profession.  In  the  acquisition  of  it,  practice  count- 
ed for  more  than  theory.  Agriculture  he  learned 
by  farming ;  the  art  of  war  in  battle ;  politics  in 
the  forum  ;  law  in  the  courts ;  oratory  in  the  sen- 
ate. In  the  science  and  art  of  education,  therefore, 
the  Romans  have  done  little  for  the  world,  though 
in  other  spheres  their  influence  has  been  profound, 
pervasive,  and  inexhaustible. 

In  the  thousand  years  that  followed  the  fall  of 
the  Roman  empire,  the  problem  of  life  was  to  pre- 
pare for  death.  Man,  as  an  heir  of  glory,  became 
estranged  to  his  earthly  heritage,  and  disesteemed 
its  uses  and  its  beauty.  Instead  of  the  joyous 
worldliness  of  the  Greeks,  there  prevailed  what 
George  Eliot  has  branded  "  other-worldliness,"  but 
what  I  should  prefer  to  designate  an  absorbing 
sense  of  the  supernatural  and  eternal.  Men  turned 
away  from  nature  and  disregarded  the  natural  life 
of  man.  The  system  of  education  corresponded 
with  the  ideal  of  life  ;  and,  speaking  generall^^,  the 


i6 


Alemon'al  Address. 


onl}'  faculties  developed  were  the  religious  facul- 
ties, the  only  knowledge  cultivated  was  religious 
knowledge.      Before    the    period   closed,    however, 
Aristotle  was  dragged  into  the  service  of  the  church, 
and    henceforth    the    intellectual    culture    of   the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  in  such  measure  as  successive 
generations  were  capable  of  interpreting  it,  went 
hand  in  hand  with  Christian  theology  in  the  edu- 
cation   of  mankind.     And,    with    many    modifica- 
tions,   rendered    necessary   by  the  growth   of  the 
natural  sciences  and  the  expansion  of  other  disci- 
plines, this  combination  has  furnished  the  frame- 
work of  most  of  the  education  that  has  prevailed 
up  to  the  present  day. 

I  am  not,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  of  those  who  are 
so  bedazzled  with  the  enlightenment  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  that  they  cannot  discern  the  lights 
along  the  times  of  old  that  were  before  us.  And  I 
have  no  sympathy  with  the  superior  wisdom  that 
jauntily  flings  aside  customs  and  institutions 
handed  down  to  us  with  the  accumulated  sanctions 
of  many  generations  of  our  fellow  men.  Not  that 
I  adore  pachydermatous  immobility.  But  I  hold 
there  is  a  more  excellent  way  than  either  inane 
radicalism  or  blind  conservatism.  And  that  is  the 
recognition  that,  while  every  system  is  valid  for  its 


A  People's   University.  17 

age  and  generation,  none  is  so  absolutely  complete 
as  to  suit  other  times  and  circumstances  without 
change,  or  even  without  remodelling.  What  we 
have  to  do,  therefore,  is  not  to  break  with  the  past, 
but  to  consider  how  its  institutions  may  be  modi- 
fied to  adapt  themselves  to  the  requirements  of  the 
present.  And  this  method  of  procedure  is  equally 
advisable  in  dealing  with  education  as  in  dealing 
with  law,  or  politics,  or  religion. 

In  order  to  find  an  educational  ideal  for  our  age, 
it   will   be   necessary  first  of  all  to  determine  its' 
characteristics,  its  essential  difference  from  those 
preceding  periods  which  we   have   all   too  briefly 
mentioned.      Now,   this   is   no  easy  task,   for  the 
course  of  histo-y,  as  I  need  r.ot  remind  this  audi- 
ence,   is    not    intersected    by    c!car   dividing-lines. 
The   world's    events    form    a  "seamless    garment. 
There  are,  however,  differences  of  shade  and  color. 
And,  I  venture  to  think,  the  last  three  or  four  cen- 
turies have  received  their  tone  from  that  unparal- 
leled movement  of  the  human    mind,  which   we 
ordinarily  call   the  Reformation.     It  was,  without 
doubt,   primarily  a   religious   movement;    but  we 
ignore  its  many-sidedness  when  we  overlook  its  in- 
fluence on  politics  and  on  general  culture.      It  was 
a  universal  revolt  against  convention,  and  a  return 


i8 


Memorial  Address. 


to  the  everlasting  sources  of  things.  There  was  to 
be  an  end  of  tradition  and  hearsay.  God,  nature, 
and  man  were  to  be  considered  as  they  are  in  them- 
selves, and  not  as  report  vainly  gave  them  out 
to  be. 

I  need  not  tell  you  how  our  views  of  nature  have 
since  then  changed.     And  though  it  would  be  in- 
teresting to  trace  the  development  of  theology  since 
this  new  departure,  it  would  lead  us  too  far  from 
our  subject.     I  can   only   observe  that,   with   the 
downfall  of  the  principle  of  established  churches, 
has  come  the  fulfillment  of  our  Lord's  prophecy  of 
absolute   individualism    in    religion:    "Neither  in 
this  mountain,  nor  yet  at  Jerusalem."     But  what  it 
especially  concerns  me  now  to  emphasize  is  that 
the  spirit  of  the  reformation  has  kavened  the  mod- 
ern view  of  man.     The  teaching  that  effected  such 
changes  was  not  new.     Greek  Stoics  and  Roman 
jurists  alike  recognized  the  brotherhood  of  men. 
And  the  Divine  Teacher  whom  the  Reformers  fol- 
lowed had  solemnly  proclaimed  the  infinite  worth 
of  the  human  soul.     What  is  new  in  the  modern 
period  is  the  practical  acceptance  of  this  doctrine 
with  all  its  consequences.     Do  not  misunderstand 
me.     I  am  not  maintaining  the  milennium  is  here, 
neither  in  Washington  nor  in  Paris.     I  am  assert- 


A  People's   University. 


19 


iiig  that  the  characteristic  of  the  modern  world  is 
its  deeper  consciousness  of  the  truth  that  all  men 
are  fiee,  equal,  and  inviolable;  and  that  this  was 
the  moving  spirit  of  recent  history,  as  we  have  its 
quintessence  in  Jie  .  .nerican  and  in  the  French 
Revolution.     But  I  do  not  forget  that,  while  con- 
duct has  been  nearer  this  theory  than  ever  before 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  it  still  lagged  so  far  be- 
hind that,  though  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  is  now  in  its  second  century,  the  generation 
is  still  in  the  prime  of  life  that  first  saw  its  noble 
principles  universally  applied  to  practice.     Never- 
theless, I  adhere  to  my  contention  that  the  main 
distinguishing  feature  of  our  age  is  its  living  con- 
viction of  the   unspeakable   worth   and  liberty  of 
every  human  person. 

This  has  been  the  organizing  idea  of  modern  po- 
litical and  ecclesiastical  institutions.  And,  though 
great  advance  has  been  made  in  Europe,  especially 
in  England,  the  fullest  development  of  the  princi- 
ple has  been  attained  on  this  North  American  con- 
tinent. Here,  and  here  alone,  has  been  completely 
embodied,  both  in  state  and  church,  the  idea  of  the 
liberty,  equality,  and  fraternity  .of  men. 

We  have  a  people's  government  and  a  people's 


20 


Memorial  .  hidrrss. 


church.     Have  we  a  people's  university  ?      If  so, 
how  is  it  constituted  ? 

After  what  I  have  just  said,  we  sliall  not  find  it 
difficult  to  answer  this  question.     If  the  modern 
university  is  to  reflect  the  spirit  of  the  age,  it  must, 
like  the  modern  state,  recognize  no  distinctions  of 
class  or  caste.     Every  human  being  will  come  be- 
fore it  with  the  same  infinite  and  inviolable  person- 
ality.    All    will    have   the    same    claims   upon   it. 
Universality,  therefore,  is  the  first  mark  of  such  a 
university.     There  is  no  class,  or  no  individual,  to 
whom  its  doors  are  not  open.     And  this  is   what 
distinguishes  it  from  the  educational   institutions 
of  all  former  ages.     They  were  intended  for  cer- 
tain  select   portions   of  the   people;   the   majority 
were  excluded  from  them.     Take  the  most  brilliant 
of  these  ancient  systems,   the   Athenian.     It   ex- 
cluded slaves,  who  formed  four-fifths  of  the  popula- 
tion of  Attica  ;  it  excluded  women,  half  the  remain- 
ing one-fifth  ;  and  of  the  small  residue,  the  larger 
portion  were  practically  excluded  by  the  heavy  cost 
entailed.     Exdnsivejiess  was  the  badge  of  ancient 
education.     The  modern  university  must  know  no 
limits  but  humanity. 

But  the  most  significant  characteristic  has  yet  to 
be  mentioned.     If  nothing  were  required  in  a  peo- 


A  People's   Universitv 


21 


pie's  university  but  open  doors  to  all.  then  exam- 
ples of  it  might  be  found,  thougli  not  in  the  aneient 
world,  in  every  civilized  country  of  modern  times. 
But  there  is  another  requisite,  and  a  very  important 
one.     The  curriculum   must  be  as  varied  as  the 
wants   of  the   people.     And  of  how   many  of  the 
great  universities  of  the  world,  can  this,  I  would 
ask,  be  claimed  ?     They  care  for  theology,  for  law, 
for  medicine,  for  the  humanities,  and,  to  some  ex' 
tent,  for  the  sciences  of  nature.     But  though  it  has 
been  so  assumed  for  some  hundreds  of  years,  I  ven^ 
ture  to  assert  that  mankind  is  not  constituted  by 
the  minister,  the  lawyer,  the  doctor,  and  the  master 
of  arts,  not  even  if  you   throw   in   a  new-i^mgled 
bachelor  of  science.     Here  is  the  point  at  which 
the  inherited  ideal  of  education  needs  modification. 
It  was  excellent  for  an  age  that  knew  of  a  scientific 
basis  for  the  professions  of  the  classes,  but  of  none 
for  the  occupations  of  the  masses.     But  the  day  of 
the  people  has  at  last  arrived.     A  revolution  ha.s 
taken  place  in  the  character  of  their  employments. 
The  introduction  of  machinery  has  developed  upon 
nature  what  was  formerly  left  to  the  uneducated 
and  almost  instinctive  activity  of  the   multitude. 
But  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  powers  of  nature,  we 
must  know  her  operations  and  her  laws,     Conse- 


22 


Memorial  Address. 


qiicntl y  the  iiKlustrial  pursuits  of  the  pjcscnt  day 
are  as  niiieli  dependent  upon  seientific  knowledge 
as  niedieine  or  hiw.     Of  eourse,  not  every  nuinual 
lal)orer  needs  or  can  have  this  knowledge.     One 
may  attend  to  a  machine   without   understanding 
the    principles    of    its   construction    or   operation. 
And  there  still  remain  many  varieties  of  work  to 
which  machinery  has  not  been  applied.     Neverthe- 
less, it  is,  broadly  speaking,  true  that  the  industries 
of  the  people  have,  in  these  modern  times,  been  or- 
ganized upon  a  new  basis.     JVIan  has  enlisted  in  his 
service  the  powers  of  nature.     And  if,   since  the 
foundation  of  Salerno,  universities  have  been  dedi- 
cated to  the  investigation  of  nature,  with  a  view  to 
providing  a  remedy  for  human  diseases,  they  now 
assuredly  need  a  fuller  consecration  to  the  same 
service  for  the  additional  purpose  of  rendering  more 
available  to  our  helpless  race  those  natural  powers 
and  operations  by  whi:h   the  w^orks  of  man   are 
effected  and  the  life  of  man  sustained. 

The  fact  is,  we  do  not  discern  the  signs  of  the 
times,  or,  as  evolutionists  say,  we  are  not  adjusted 
to  our  environment.  I  sometimes  think  we  never 
do  get  adjusted  until  it  is  too  late ;  until  the  envir- 
onment has  changed,  or  we  are  on  the  eve  of  quit- 
ting it.     At  any  rate,  we  are  slow  to  adapt  ou'r 


A  People's   University,  23 

selves  to  new  conditions,  and  slower  still  to  recog. 
ni/e  that  tlie  conditions  are  new.     They  change  so 
gradnally  and  imperceptibly,  that  as  Darwin  says 
of  geological  formations,  they  are  not  noticed  till 
the  slow  hand  of  time  lias  marked  the  close  of  one 
epoch  and  the  opening  of  another.     We  are  in  the 
fnll  stream  of  modern  tendencies  ;  and  yet  onr  nni- 
versity  ideals  belong,  for  the  most  part,  to  a  period 
anterior  to  the  inventions  of  printing,  gnnpowder, 
the  mariner's  compass,  and  the  telescope,  and  to 
the  vast  geographical  and  astronomical  discoveries, 
which,  with  those  inventions,  form  the  beginnings 
of  onr  modern  civilization.     The  divorce  between 
the  nniversities  and  the  activities  of  life  is  astonnd- 
ing.     Who  wonld  ever  snspect,  from  examination 
of  a  nniversity  cnrricnlnm,  that  man's  dominion 
over  natnre  was,  after  his  own  freedom,  the  great- 
est gain  and  the  most  characteristic  featnre  of  onr 
age  ?     Yet,  in  trntli,  it  is  with  ns  that  the  kingdom 
of  man  has  come.     The  poetic  vision  of  Shakes- 
peare, the  prophetic  aspiration  of  Bacon,  first  attain 
in  this  age  their  realization  ;  yet  in  how  many  nni- 
versities  in   which   the    Tempest  and  the   Novum 
Organum  are  read,  do  you  find  any  recognition  of 
those  potent  arts  whose  magic  they  celebrate  ? 
To  be  perfectly  open,  we  are,  in  spite  of  our  pro- 


m 


24 


Memorial  Address. 


fessed   democracy,   still   aristocratic   in   university 
matters.     We  think  tliere  are   some   subjects  too 
common  for  university  instruction.     But  a  people's 
university,  if  it  is  true  to  the  spirit  of  our  age, 
must  hold  all  subjects  equally  reputable,  and  pro- 
vide instruction  in  all  alike.     Least  of  all  can  it 
afford  to  omit  those  industrial  arts  which  lie  at  the 
foundation  of  our  modern  life.     But  with  them  it 
must  include  every  interest  of  the  people  which  ad- 
mits of  scientific  treatment.     The  masses  and  the 
classes  must  both  be  represented.     Or,  rather,  such 
a  university  can  recognize  no  such  distinction,  for 
the  objects  of  every  occupation  must  be  esteemed 
equally  significant.     The   analysis  of  soils   is   as 
important  as  the  analysis  of  literature.     The  steam 
engine  is  as  sacred  as  Greek.     Philosophy  is  not 
more  venerable  than  road  making.     A  house  is  as 
rational  as  the  geometry  it  embodies.     We  must 
no  longer  dream  that  the  little  section  of  knowl- 
edge  we  cultivate   is   the   holy  of  holies.     Every 
atom  of  the  universe  is  equally  worthy  of  regard. 

fi  ^H  ure  l)ut  parts  of  one  stupendous  whole,  .      v 

Whose  body  nature  is,  and  God  the  soul.  -  ^ 

The  spirit  which  sets  up  distinctions  is  that 
which  of  old  separated  the  Greeks  from  the  Bar- 
barians and  the  Jews  from  the  Gentiles.     Would 


A  Peoples   University.  25 

to  heaven   we  might  once  more  see  the  sky  open, 
and  a  great  sheet  let  down  to  earth,  with  all  man- 
ner of  things  therein,   and   hear  again  the  voice 
speaking  a  second  time,  and  saying:  "What  God 
hath  cleansed,  that  call  thon  not  common."     In 
God's  universe  there  is  nothing  common  or  un- 
clean, and  whatever  is  known  about  it  must  have 
a  place  in  the  curriculum  of  a  people's  university. 
Here,  then,  are  two  characteristics  of  a  people's 
university.     In  contradistinction  to  the  ideal  of  the 
ancient  world— of  India,   Egypt,   Greece,   etc.— it 
proclaims  that  every  person  has  the  same  right  to 
knowledge.      And,    in    opposition   to   the   general 
practice  of  the  modern  world,  it  proclaims  the  equal 
worth  of  every  subject  of  study.     The  first  of  these 
propositions,   no  American,  at  least,  will   call   in 
question.     The   second    I    consider   equally    true. 
But  in  case  the  considerations  already  adduced  do 
not  carry  to  your  minds  the  evidence  and  the  con- 
vincing force  I  claim  for  them,  it  may  be  well  to  show 
that  the  second  proposition  is  a  necessary  conse- 
quence of  the  first.     For  when  you  have  once  grant- 
ed the  inviolable  rights  of  every  human  person,  you 
cannot  take  the  needs  of  one  soul  as  norm  for  an- 
other.    The  curiosity  of  one  mind  may  direct  itself 
upon  languages,  of  another  upon  machinery.     But 
if  Sanskrit  finds  one  man,  sets  him  thinking,  and 


26 


Memorial  Address. 


develops  his  powers,  and  opens  to  him  a  storehouse 
of  information,  and  if  the  steam  engine  does  the 
same  for  another  man,  and  brings  him  a  livelihood 
as  well,  it  is  mere  priggishness  to  call  the  one  man 
educated    and    the   other   uneducated.     The   only 
reason  of  our  doing  so  is  that  we  are  the  slaves  of 
a  system  of  education  which,  though  admirable  for 
its  day,  is  not  comprehensive  enough  for  the  new 
conditions  of  this  latest  age  of  the  world's  progress. 
We  profess  to  accept  the  modern  principle  of  indi- 
vidualism, but  in  our  educational  theories  we  are 
still  bound  to  oligarchy,  if  not  to  despotism.     Here, 
however,  the  people  are  wiser  than   their  official 
spokesmen.  '  The  practical  sense  of  the  community- 
has  long  since  recognized  that  a  man  may  be  as 
truly  educated  in  business  or  in  the  workshop  as  in 
the  laboratory  or  the  seminary.      And  the  people's 
university  must  rest  upon  this  indubitable  insight. 
Its  curriculum  must  embrace  the  inventions  of  our 
own  day,  the  sciences  of  the  moderns,  the  learning 
of  the  ancients, — in  a  word,  everything  capable  of 
theoretic  consideration  ;    everything  in  which  the 
mind  of  man  is  rationally  interested.     Such  a  uni- 
versal  programme  would  also  have  a  fine  moral 
influence.     Instead  of  puffing  us  up  with  conceit, 
and  leading  us  to  disparage  those  who  have  not 
taken  our  particular  course,  it  would  be  a  perpetual 


A  Pcopleh  University. 


27 


reminder  of  the  limits  of  our  attainments  and  of  the 
variety  of  human  interests,  and  it  could  scarcely 
fail  to  deepen  our  idea  of  that  Infinite  ]\Iind  in 
whom  are  contained  all  those  treasures  of  wisdom 
and  knowledge  which  man  stri^  .  to  apprehend  in 
broken  and  disconnected  fragments. 

Hegel  was  charged  with  constructing  a  political 
philosophy  for  the  express  purpose  of  justifying 
the  constitution  of  Prussia.  And  it  may  be  sus- 
pected that  in  my  a  priori  deduction  of  a  people's 
university,  I  had  my  eye  on  Cornell.  Now  I  will 
say  that  Cornell  is  the  only  institution  which,  so 
far  as  I  know,  has  attempted  to  embody  the  princi- 
ples here  laid  down  in  the  constitution  of  a  univer- 
sity. But  I  must  protest  I  have  reached  these 
principles  by  independent  reasoning.  And  I  will- 
ingly leave  it  with  you  to  determine  how  far  the 
arguments  are  valid  by  which  I  have  sought  to 
deduce  the  constitution  of  an  ideal  university  from 
the  general  spirit  of  our  age,  and  the  particular 
conditions  of  our  modern  life  and  culture. 

Our  problem  is  now  solved.  We  set  out  to  de- 
termine the  constitutive  idea  of  this  University. 
We  seemed  to  digress  into  a  discussion  of  a  peo- 
ple's university.  But  we  have  found  the  two  are 
the  same.  When  Ezra  Coruell  (who,  by  the  way, 
was  a  man  of  the  people),  said  he  would  found  an 


28 


Memorial  Address. 


institution  where  any  person  could  find  instruction 
in  an^'  subject,  his  intention  was  to  establish  a  uni- 
versity of  the  people, — a  university  demanded  by 
the  democratic  ideas  of  modern  times,  3^et  a  univer- 
sity so  broad  that,  while  it  is  just  to  the  present,  it 
ignores  nothing  of  the  past,  and  is  capable  of  ex- 
panding to  the  requirements  of  all  that  the  future 
has  in  store  for  our  race. 

Will  you  allow  me  to  add  a  few  observations  be- 
fore relaxing  the  attention  with  which  you  have 
honored  me  ?  There  are  cerLain  peculiar  features 
and  dangers  necessarily  inherent  in  a  people's  uni- 
versity, which  I  should  like  to  mention,  with  special 
reference  to  Cornell.  The  first  is,  that  it  is  enor- 
mously expensive.  It  takes  several  millions  of 
dollars  to  maintain  our  present  organization.  And 
did  Cornell  completely  realize  its  ideal,  I  know  not 
what  additional  millions  would  be  required  to  pro- 
vide for  all  the  subjects  of  human  knowledge  and 
practice  yet  unrepresented  in  our  curriculum. 
Even  our  inadequate  approach  to  this  ideal  involves 
a  fast  increasing  outlay,  which  taxes  all  our  re- 
sources. But,  besides  the  cost  of  equipment,  Cor- 
nell uiakes  heavy  sacrifices,  which  only  the  few 
know  of,  to  bring  its  facilities  within  the  reach  of 
all  the  people.  Our  fees  are  only  from  one-half  to 
two-thii-ds  of  what  is  ordinarily  exacted   at  other 


wmwv'^ 


A  People's   University.  ^ 

institutions  of  the  san.e,  or  even  of  inferior  rank 
We  offer  free  instrnction  to  over  five  hnndred  stu- 
dents from  the  State  of  New  York.     And  if  other 
students  are  too  poor  to  pay  their  tuition  fees   we 
take  their  promises  to  pay,  and  give  them  an  edu- 
cat,on.       Now,    with    our    present    resources,    this 
beneficence  on  the  part  of  the  university  is  ueces 
sarily  h-mited.      But  the  outlook  is  not  dishearten- 
ing.     No  other  institution  iu  the  world  can  appeal 
to  the  people  with  the  same  confidence  of  support 
We  are  working  for  the  people,  for  every  class  and 
profession  ;  and  the  wealth  of  the  country  cannot 
pass   us   by.     If  our  students  are  practicing  the 
utmost  eeouomy,-and  some  of  then,   board  and 
lodge  for  $,.40  per  week;  and  -T  our  trustees  find 
that,  with  the  best  investments,  oi,r  resources  are 
not  adequate  to  the  work  we  have  to  do,-and  such 
.s  now  the  case,-I  have  the  fullest  confidence  that 
the  sense  of  the  ntonied  me,,  of  the  country  will  not 
be  deaf  to  our  appeal  when  we  say  :    "Con.e  to  our 
l,elp,  aud  as  you  would  do  good  to  your  feIIow„,e„ 
a,d  us  in  mnltiplyiug  u,ea„s  for  their  iustrnction  ■ 
aid  us,  by  founding  scholarships  for  needy  students' 
to  bring  it  within  the  reach  of  all.     Here  is  a  cure 
for  anarchy,  and  baneful  strife  betweeu  classes  of 
:ople.     Help  us,  in  God's  name,  to  fit  every 


the 


30 


Memorial  Address, 


one  who  will  come  to  us,  to  do  liis  work  in  life  in 
the  best  manner  known  to  our  age." 

My  second  remark  is  that  institutions  so  general 
in  their  scope  are  especially  liable  to  be  misunder- 
stood. People  with  hobbies  will  complain  that 
they  are  neglected.  Thus  Cornell  has  been  ac- 
cused of  neglecting  the  so-called  liberal  arts,  in  her 
devotion  to  the  mechanic  arts.  But  the  fact  is,  as 
we  all  know,  Cornell  stands  up  for  all  subjects 
alike.  And  it  has  steadily  aimed,  and  at  an  enor- 
mous outla}^,  to  make  its  departments  of  literature, 
language,  philosoph}-,  science,  and  the  like,  second 
to  none  in  the  country.  And  the  recent  unusual 
increase  of  students  in  these  subjects  shows  that  at 
last  our  efforts  have  been  appreciated.  From  the 
same  illiberal  spirit  that  has  declared  us  without 
culture,  because  we  endeavored  to  supply  all  the 
means  of  culture,  our  university  was  formerly 
branded  as  godless,  apparently  because  its  ideal 
was  to  study  all  the  works  of  God.  Possibly  some- 
thing was  due  to  that  clause  in  the  charter  which 
makes  Cornell  forever  undenominational.  But 
time  and  a  mutual  understanding  have  shown  that 
a  secular  university  is  not  irreligious,  because  it  is 
not  sectarian.  And  I  should,  at  the  present  time, 
not  be  surprised  to  see  the  larger  denominations 
availing  themselves  of  our  educational  facilities  by 


\U 


w 


A  Pa>pl,-'s   Univcrsily.  '  „ 

the  establishment  of  theoI„,.ical  I.alls  and  Louses 
of  res,de„ce  in  the  innnediate  vicinity  of  the  cam- 
pus, as  they  have  done  witl,  such  excellent  results 
m  con„ect,o„  with  McGill  University,  Montreal, 

V  of  «;"•""""  "'  '''"■°"'°'  "■'"■  "-  Univer- 
Mty  of  M.ch.gan,  and,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 

globe,  w,th  the  fine  University  of  Melbourne  At 
any  rate,  we  cannot  but  rejoice  that  at  the  present 
day,  the  work  and  spirit  of  Cornell  are  so  riijhtlv 
appreciated  an.ong  all  classes  of  our  population 

One  re„,ark  n.ore  and  I  have  done.     I„  another 
year  Cornell  University  w,:i  have  co„,e  of  age,  and 
I  trust  the  event  will  be  w^orthilj-  celebrated.     It 
W.11  then  fall  to  the  historia„-and   no  one  ea„ 
wnte  that  history  but  the  distinguished  first  Presi- 
dent, who  so  largely  made  it-to  trace  the  develop- 
".ent  of  your  alma  mater  through  all  the  varied 
phases  of  her  glorious  adolescence.     There  may  be 
disappointments  and  failures  to  chronicle,  for 

■^  ■.     a  man's  read,  ,,l,oul<Uxcee.l  liis  griMp 
Or  what's  a  heaven  for?  ^' 

Yet  these  shortcomings  apart,  and  they  are  com- 
mon to  every  history,  it  will  be  a  record  of  such 
wonderful  growth,  such  many-sided  and  brilliant 
achievement  as  has  no  parallel,  I  believe,  in  the 
educational  annals  of  our  race.  This  retrospect 
will  not  fail  to  stimulate  hope  and  engender  extrav- 
agant expectations  of  the  future.     And  it  will  be 


32 


Memorial  Address, 


altogether  fitting  on  that  occasion  that  you  give 
3'ourselves  up  to  the  enthusiasm  which  the  picture 
is  calculated  to  strike  into  the  coldest  heart.  That 
will  be  a  time  to  feel  confidence  and  to  exult  in  it, 
not  to  analyze  its  grounds.  Good  grounds,  how- 
ever, there  are ;  and,  under  other  circumstances,  it 
were  desirable  you  should  cast  about  for  them. 
But  that  the  ecstasy  of  that  high  hour  may  not  be 
sicklied  o'er  with  the  pale  cast  of  thought,  let  me 
here  anticipate,  and,  on  a  Founder's  Day,  devoted 
to  more  sober  inquiries,  assure  you  that  the  unpar- 
alleled prosperity  of  our  University  has  been  owing 
to  the  character  of  its  constitutive  idea,  to  tliat 
principle  of  universality  and  equality  which  it  is 
the  undying  fame  of  Ezra  Cornell  to  have  con- 
ceived, and  here  first  applied  to  education  almost 
at  the  very  time  the  nation  was  receiving  a  fresh 
consecration  to  it  from  the  priestly  lips  of  Lincoln, 
on  the  hallowed  field  of  Gettysburg;  and  let  me 
further  tell  you  (and  these  are  the  last  w^ords  by 
which  I  would  seek  to  attune  you  to  that  coming 
celebration)  that  our  confidence  in  the  future  of 
Cornell  University  is  due  to  an  ineradicable  con- 
viction, attested  by  the  whole  drift  and  spirit  of  the 
modern  world,  that,  under  God,  education  "of  the 
people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people,  shall  not  per- 
ish from  the  earth." 


'^w^'-^'mf^Wi'* 


